Printing system, program, and method

Abstract

To provide a printing system that gives a file name different from a file name in a storage to document data acquired from the storage and manages it, the system being configured to generate print data configured so that a file name based on the file name in the storage may be output to a file name field in the document data.SOLUTION: A printing system gives a file name different from a file name in a storage to document data acquired from the storage and stores it. When a file name field from which the file name is output is included in the document data, the printing system generates intermediate data in a state that the file name based on the file name in the storage is output to the file name field upon generating the intermediate data from the stored document data, and generates image data capable of executing printing with a printer by using the generated intermediate data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system, a program, and a method for generating print data from document data.

Background Art

[0002] There is a cloud printing service that provides print data of document data stored in cloud storage such as Google Drive and OneDrive (registered trademark). A cloud printing service using a cloud server, in response to a request from a client terminal such as a smartphone, acquires specified document data from cloud storage, converts the acquired document data into print data, and provides it to a printer.

[0003] When a cloud server that provides such a printing service or the like acquires a file from cloud storage and temporarily stores it in the server, it is generally performed to store the acquired file with a file name that is easy to handle in the server. That is, the cloud server assigns a file name different from the file name in cloud storage to the acquired file and stores it.

[0004] This is because the cloud server and cloud storage may use different operating systems (OSs), and furthermore, since the characters and lengths that can be used in file names depend on the OS, when handling files created on different OSs, errors caused by file names are prevented. Examples of OS-dependent characters include, in the case of the Windows (registered trademark) OS, characters such as "￥", " / ", ":", "*", "?", "\"", "<", ">", "|" that cannot be used as file names, etc., which are predetermined. Also, a cloud server that has acquired a file (for example, a server that provides a printing service) has the effect of facilitating file management by unifying the format of file names within the cloud server. For example, in the case of a printing service, there are cases where a job identifier returned in response to a printing request from a client is used as the file name of document data. The client specifies the job identifier and makes requests such as canceling or reprinting to the printing service. The printing service can perform processes such as reading and deleting on the file with the file name that matches the job identifier, so by assigning the job identifier to the file, it becomes easier to identify the file to be processed.

[0005] Also, Patent Document 1 discloses converting a string input by a user into a file name composed only of restricted characters that can be handled on different OSs. When applying the technology of Patent Document 1 to a cloud server that provides a printing service, for the document data acquired from the cloud storage, it can be made into a file name composed only of characters that can be used on the cloud server. However, also in this case, the file name of the document data when stored in the cloud storage and the file name of the document data temporarily stored in the cloud server that provides the printing service will have different names.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] Depending on the document data, there is a format in which a field (file name field) updated with the file name at the time of printing execution can be placed in the document. For example, in document data in the MS Word format, a file name field can be placed in the header / footer part of the document. The MS Word format is the format of document data used in Word software of Microsoft Corporation (trademark). When document data in which this file name field is set is printed, in the print result, a character string of the file name is output at the position of the file name field. Also, when document data in the MS Word format is converted to PDF using a PDF conversion driver (for example, Microsoft print to PDF, etc.), in the converted PDF file, a character string of the file name is output at the position of the file name field.

[0008] In a cloud server that provides a printing service, when a process of generating print data from document data in which a file name field is placed is executed, in the print data, a character string of the file name of the document data when temporarily held in the cloud server is output at the position of the file name field. At this time, as described above, the document file name when stored in the cloud storage is different from the document file when temporarily stored in the cloud server that provides the printing service. Therefore, the character string output in the file name field of the print data becomes a different character string from the character string when stored in the cloud storage (that is, the file name when temporarily stored in the cloud server that provides the printing service). On the other hand, since the user selects document data stored on the cloud storage as the printing target, there is a problem that the file name of the document data on the cloud storage is not printed although the user expects it to be printed.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a printing system according to the present invention is a printing system that acquires document data stored in a storage and generates print data for the acquired document data, and includes a storage means for storing the document data acquired from the storage after assigning a file name different from the file name in the storage; an intermediate data generation means for generating intermediate data from the document data stored in the storage means such that when a file name field where a file name is output is included in the document data, a file name based on the file name in the storage is output to the file name field; and a print data generation means for generating print data capable of executing printing on a printer using the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generation means.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the printing system of the present invention, in a printing system that assigns and manages a file name different from the file name in the storage to the document data acquired from the storage, it is possible to generate print data in a state where a file name based on the file name in the storage is output to a file name field in the document data.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings and the like. Note that the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and not all the configurations described in the embodiments are essential means for solving the problems of the present invention.

[0013] [Example 1] <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system that provides a printing service according to Example 1. In FIG. 1, the printing system of the present invention includes a printing server 101 and a document conversion server 102. The printing server 101 is a printing server that generates print data from document data stored in the cloud storage 103 in cooperation with the document conversion server 102, and further provides the generated print data to the printer 105. The printing server 101 acquires the requested document data from the cloud storage in response to a request from a client terminal such as the mobile terminal 104 and generates print data. The file format of this document data is, for example, the MS WORD format. Also, the generated print data is data that can be interpreted by a printer to execute printing.

[0014] The document conversion server 102 has a function of generating intermediate data interpretable by the print server from document data in response to a request from the print server. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the intermediate data is in PDF format. Also, the conversion server 102 generates a PDF from document data in MS WORD format using the export function of Microsoft Word software. That is, the print server 101 of this embodiment acquires the document data requested from the client terminal from the cloud storage, transmits the acquired document data to the document conversion server 102 to generate intermediate data, and converts the generated intermediate data into print data.

[0015] 103 is a cloud storage where document data is stored. The OS used in the cloud storage is different from the OS of the print server 101 and the document conversion server 102, and it is assumed that a character string that cannot be used as a file name in the print server 101 and the document conversion server 102 can be used as a file name. In this embodiment, the case of selecting the document data stored in the cloud storage as the print target will be described, but the storage source of the document data is not limited to the cloud storage, and it may be another storage such as a file server. That is, it is assumed that the document data that can be the print target is stored with the original file name in the cloud storage, file server, etc.

[0016] 104 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone and is a type of client terminal. The user requests the print server 101 to print the document data stored in the cloud storage using the mobile terminal 104. Note that the client terminal is not limited to the mobile terminal and may be a general PC.

[0017] The printer 105 acquires the print data generated by the print server 101 and executes printing. The print server 101, cloud storage 103, mobile terminal 104, and printer 105 are connected via the Internet 100.

[0018] <Hardware Configuration> FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of devices that can be used as a printing server 101, a document conversion server 102, a mobile terminal (client terminal) 104, and the like.

[0019] In FIG. 2(a), a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 is a unit that executes various programs and realizes various functions. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 202 is a unit that stores various kinds of information. Also, the RAM 202 is used as a temporary working storage area for the CPU 201. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 203 is a unit that stores various programs and the like. For example, the CPU 201 loads a program stored in the ROM 203 into the RAM 202 and executes the program. Also, the CPU 201 may execute processing based on a program stored in an external storage device such as a flash memory (not shown), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or an SSD (Solid State Disk). The printing server 101, the document conversion server 102, and the mobile terminal 104 function as the software configuration of FIG. 3 described later by executing the programs for each device, and execute the processing of each step of the sequence described later.

[0020] Note that the functions of the printing server 101, the document conversion server 102, and the mobile terminal 104 and the processing related to the sequence described later are not limited to those realized by executing a program, and all or part of them may be realized using dedicated hardware.

[0021] The Input / Output interface 204 is a unit that provides an interface with output devices such as display devices, input devices such as keyboards and mice, or input / output devices such as touch panels. The NIC (Network Interface Card) 205 is a unit for connecting the printing server 101, the document conversion server 102, and the mobile terminal 104 to a network such as the Internet 100 or a LAN. The above-described units 201-205 are configured to be able to transmit and receive data via the bus 206.

[0022] Figure 2(b) is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of the printer 105. In Figure 2(b), the CPU 211, RAM 212, ROM 213, and NIC 214 are the same as the CPU 201, RAM 202, ROM 203, and NIC 205 in Figure 2(a), respectively, and thus the description thereof is omitted. However, the CPU 211 of the printer executes a control program for the printer to realize the functions and processes described later. The printer engine 215 is an output unit that prints print data. The operation panel 216 is an input unit that receives operations from the user. The above-described units 211-216 are configured to be able to transmit and receive data via the bus 217.

[0023] <Software Configuration> Next, the software configuration that functions as each processing unit will be described by executing the programs of the respective devices in the printing server 101, the document conversion server 102, the mobile terminal 104, and the printer 105.

[0024] Figure 3(a) is a diagram showing the software configuration of the printing server 101. The print request receiving unit 301 of the printing server 101 receives a print request from the mobile terminal 104 via the NIC 205. Also, the document data receiving unit 302 acquires document data from the cloud storage 103. The document data generation unit 303 executes a process for generating print data from the document data. The document data acquired from the cloud storage 103 and the print data generated from the document data are stored in the RAM 202 of the printing server 101 as the document data file 304 and deleted when printing is completed by the printer 105.

[0025] Figure 3(b) is a diagram showing the software configuration of the document conversion server 102. The document data receiving unit 311 of the document conversion server 102 receives document data from the printing server 101 via the NIC 205. Also, the document data conversion unit (intermediate data generation unit) 312 has a function of generating intermediate data in a format processable by the printing server 101 from the received document data. The document data editing unit 313 has a function of editing the document data. The intermediate data editing unit 314 has a function of editing the intermediate data. The intermediate data transmitting unit 315 transmits the converted intermediate data to the printing server 101. Note that the document data received from the printing server 101 and the generated intermediate data are stored in the RAM of the document conversion server 102 as the document data temporary file 316 and deleted after transmitting the intermediate data to the printing server.

[0026] Figure 3(c) is a diagram showing the software configuration of the mobile terminal 104. The mobile terminal 104 includes a UI unit 301 that receives input from the user via the Input / Output interface 204 and a print server communication unit 312 that communicates with the print server.

[0027] Figure 3(d) is a diagram showing the software configuration of the printer 105. The printer 105 includes a print data acquisition unit 321 that acquires print data from the printing server 101 via the NIC 217 and a printing unit 322 that performs printing using the acquired print data.

[0028] <Processing Flow> 401 in FIG. 4 shows an example of document data in which a file name field 402 is arranged in a footer area or the like of a document. It is assumed that text and drawings (not shown) are arranged in the main text area of the document in the document data. 411 shows an example in which a file name string 412 is output to the file name field 402 when print data is generated from the document data 401. That is, the print result of the print data generated from the document data or the result of converting the document data into another file format (for example, PDF format) is as shown in 411. 412 is an example of the output result of the file name field 402. When the document data 401 is saved with a file name of "Team Meeting Minutes.doc" and printed or converted into another file format, a string of the file name is output at the position of the file name field 402.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen displayed when document data stored in cloud storage is selected based on a user's instruction and a print instruction is given on the mobile terminal 104. First, the mobile terminal 104 displays a cloud storage list display screen 501 that displays a list of cloud storages accessible via the print server 101. When the user selects a desired cloud storage on the displayed screen 501, the screen transitions to 502. The screen 502 is a document data list display screen that displays a list of document data stored in the selected cloud storage. The list of document data may be obtained by the mobile terminal 104 directly accessing the cloud storage or by accessing via the print server 101. When the user selects desired document data on the screen 502, the screen transitions to a print instruction screen 503 for instructing printing of the selected document data. On the screen 503, after the user makes various print settings such as the number of copies and paper size and presses the print button 504, a print request is sent to the print server 101.

[0030] The processing flow of FIG. 6 starts with the user pressing the print button 504 on the print instruction screen 503 displayed on the mobile terminal 104. The print server communication unit 312 of the mobile terminal 104 transmits a print request for the selected document data to the print server 101 in step S601.

[0031] In step S602, when the print request receiving unit 301 of the print server 101 receives the print request, the document data acquisition unit 302 acquires the document data selected by the user from the cloud storage 103 and its file name (the file name in the cloud storage). In step S603, the document data is saved as the document data file 304. At this time, the file name of the document data file 304 stored in the print server 101 uses a unique job identifier suitable for management in the print server 101. Then, the print server 101 transmits the document data and the information of the file name in the cloud storage to the document data conversion server 102. That is, since the file name suitable for management in the print server is assigned to the document data transmitted from the print server 101 to the document data conversion server 102, in addition to the document data, the information of the file name in the cloud storage is transmitted.

[0032] In step S604, the document data receiving unit 311 of the document conversion server 102 receives the document data and the information of the file name in the cloud storage. Then, the document data conversion unit 312 converts the document data and the information of the file name in the cloud storage into intermediate data in another format (for example, PDF) interpretable by the print server. The intermediate data transmission unit 315 of the document conversion server 102 transmits the converted intermediate data to the print server 101.

[0033] In step S605, when the print server 101 receives the intermediate data, the print data generation unit 303 of the print server 101 converts the received intermediate data into print data. The print server 101 saves the converted print data in association with the document data saved in S603.

[0034] In step S606, the print data acquisition unit 321 of the printer 105 acquires print data from the print server 101. At this time, in response to a request from the print data acquisition unit 321 of the printer 105, the print server 101 transmits the print data corresponding to the requested document data.

[0035] In step S607, the printing unit 322 of the printer 105 executes printing using the acquired print data. When the printer 105 succeeds in printing, it notifies the print server 101 that the printing has succeeded. In step S608, the print server 101 deletes the document data file created in S603 and the print data generated in S605, and the flow ends.

[0036] FIG. 7 shows a detailed flow of the process in which the document conversion server 102 creates intermediate data from document data in step S604 of FIG. 6.

[0037] In step S701, the document data reception unit 311 of the document conversion server 102 saves the document data received from the print server 101 as a document data temporary file 316. At this time, the file name of the document data temporary file 316 is saved using the file name information in the cloud storage received from the print server 101. However, if the file name in the cloud storage contains characters that cannot be used as file names in the OS of the document conversion server 102, after replacing the characters with characters that can be used as file names, the replaced string is saved as the file name of the document data temporary file 316. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the OS of the document conversion server 102 is Windows, and the characters that cannot be used as file names in Windows are replaced with underscores. Therefore, the file name of the document data temporary file 316 is either the file name in the cloud storage or a file name conforming to the file name in the cloud storage (a file name in which some characters are replaced with underscores).

[0038] In step S702, the document data conversion unit 312 generates intermediate data from the document data temporary file 316. At this time, the file name of the document data temporary file 316 is output at the position of the file name field of the generated intermediate data. Since the file name of the document data temporary file 316 is the file name in the cloud storage or a file name conforming to the file name in the cloud storage, that file name is output to the file name field.

[0039] In step S703, the document data conversion unit 312 deletes the document data temporary file 316. In step S704, the intermediate data transmission unit 315 transmits the generated intermediate data to the print server 101 and ends.

[0040] Note that in this embodiment, the document conversion server 102 converts document data into intermediate data using Microsoft Word software, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, instead of the document conversion server 102, a configuration using an external cloud service (for example, Microsoft Graph API) for conversion may be used. However, also in this case, it is assumed that information on the file name in the cloud storage can be transmitted to the external cloud service together with the document data and an instruction can be given to save the document data with that file name.

[0041] As described above, the document conversion server 102 temporarily stores the document data with a file name that is the same as or can be inferred from the file name in the cloud storage, and converts the temporarily stored document data file into intermediate data. Then, the printing server 101 converts the intermediate data with the file name of the document data temporary file output to the file name field into print data. Therefore, the file name field of the generated print data will output the file name in the cloud storage or a file name that can be inferred from it. Accordingly, since the user can see the file name in the cloud storage or a file name equivalent to it printed in the document printed by the printer 105, the user can use the printed document without any discomfort. Also, in the printing server 101, since the generated print data is held in association with the document data with a file name suitable for management in the printing server, the management of the print data can be easily performed.

[0042] [Example 2] Regarding Example 2, only the differences from Example 1 will be described. FIG. 8 shows the detailed flow in Example 2 of the process of creating intermediate data from document data in step S604 of FIG. 6.

[0043] In step S801, the document data receiving unit 311 of the document conversion server 102 stores the document data received from the printing server 101 as a document data temporary file 316. At this time, the file name given by the printing server 101 is used as the file name of the document data temporary file 316 as it is, or a file name suitable for management in the document conversion server is newly given.

[0044] In step S802, the document data editing unit 313 of the document conversion server 102 deletes the file name field described in the document data temporary file 316, and instead inserts and replaces it with the character string of the "file name in the cloud storage" received from the printing server 101.

[0045] In step S803, the document data conversion unit 312 generates intermediate data from the temporary document data file 316 after the file name field has been replaced with the string "file name in cloud storage". At this time, since the file name field in the temporary document data file 316 has already been replaced with the string "file name in cloud storage", the replaced string "file name in cloud storage" is also output in the intermediate data.

[0046] In step S804, the document data conversion unit 312 deletes the temporary document data file 316. In step S805, the intermediate data transmission unit 315 transmits the generated intermediate data to the print server 101 and then ends.

[0047] As described above, the document conversion server 102 replaces the file name field of the temporarily stored document data with the string of the file name in cloud storage and then converts it into intermediate data. Therefore, even if the file name in cloud storage contains system-dependent characters that cannot be used by the print server or the document conversion server, the file name in cloud storage can be output at the position of the file name field.

[0048] [Example 3] Regarding Example 3, only the differences from Example 1 will be described. FIG. 9 shows the detailed flow in Example 3 of the process of creating intermediate data from document data in step S604 of FIG. 6.

[0049] In step S901, the document data reception unit 311 of the document conversion server 102 saves the document data received from the print server 101 as the temporary document data file 316. At this time, the file name of the temporary document data file 316 uses the file name assigned by the print server 101 as it is, or a new file name suitable for management by the document conversion server is newly assigned.

[0050] In step S902, the document data conversion unit 312 of the document conversion server 102 generates temporary intermediate data from the document data temporary file 316, and in step S903, deletes the document data temporary file 316.

[0051] In step S904, the intermediate data editing unit 314 searches for and deletes a character string that matches the file name of the document data temporary file from the temporary intermediate data, and instead inserts and replaces it with the character string of the "file name in cloud storage" received from the print server 101. In step S905, the intermediate data transmission unit 315 transmits the final intermediate data replaced with the character string of the "file name in cloud storage" to the print server 101 and ends.

[0052] As described above, the document conversion server 102 creates intermediate data from a document data file created with a temporary file name, and further replaces a character string that matches the temporary file name in the intermediate data with a character string of the file name in cloud storage. Therefore, even if the file name in cloud storage contains system-dependent characters that cannot be used in the print server or document conversion server, the file name in cloud storage can be output at the position of the file name field.

[0053] [Example 4] In the above-described Examples 1 to 3, the case where the print server 101 and the document conversion server 102 are configured as separate server devices has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functions of the print server and the document conversion server may be realized on the same server device. Further, the functions of the print server and the document conversion server may be realized on a cloud server.

[0054] [Other Examples] The present invention can also be implemented by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and causing one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus to read and execute the program. That is, a computer-readable storage medium for providing the above-described program to a system or apparatus is also included in an embodiment of the present invention. Further, it can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more of the above-described functions.

[0055] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof.

Claims

1. A printing system that retrieves document data stored in a storage and generates print data for the retrieved document data, comprising: storage means for storing the document data retrieved from the storage after assigning a file name different from the file name in the storage; intermediate data generation means for generating intermediate data from the document data stored in the storage means such that, when a file name field where a file name is output is included in the document data, the file name based on the file name in the storage is output to the file name field; print data generation means for generating print data capable of executing printing on a printer using the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generation means; A printing system characterized by comprising the above.

2. The intermediate data generation means temporarily stores the document data stored in the storage means with a file name based on the file name in the storage, and generates the intermediate data from the temporarily stored document data. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. The intermediate data generation means replaces the file name field of the document data stored in the storage means with the character string of the file name in the storage, and generates the intermediate data from the document data after the replacement. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

4. The intermediate data generation means replaces the file name field of the document data stored in the storage means with the character string of the file name in the storage, temporarily stores the document data after the replacement, and generates the intermediate data from the temporarily stored document data. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

5. The intermediate data generation means generates temporary intermediate data from the document data stored in the storage means, replaces the character string corresponding to the file name field included in the temporary intermediate data with the character string of the file name in the storage, and generates the final intermediate data after the replacement as the intermediate data. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

6. The printing system further comprises receiving means for receiving a request from a client terminal. The document data obtained from the storage is the document data specified by the request received from the client terminal by the receiving means. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

7. The printing system further comprises a transmitting means for transmitting the printing data generated by the printing data generating means to the printer. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

8. The printing system is composed of a printing server and a document conversion server. The printing server has the storage means and the printing data generating means. The document conversion server has the intermediate data generating means. The printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

9. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the printing system according to claim 1.

10. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the printing server according to claim 1.

11. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the document conversion server according to claim 1.

12. A method executed by a printing system that acquires document data stored in a storage and generates printing data for the acquired document data, comprising: A saving step of attaching a file name different from the file name in the storage to the document data acquired from the storage and saving it in the saving means of the printing system; When a file name field where a file name is output is included in the document data, when generating intermediate data from the document data saved in the saving means, the file name based on the file name in the storage is output to the file name field An intermediate data generation step of generating the intermediate data as follows; A printing data generation step of generating printing data capable of executing printing on a printer using the intermediate data generated in the intermediate data generation step; A method characterized by comprising.

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